My understanding is the Ch7/9 local GC news gets strong viewership. Ch9 News comfortably out rates the Ch7 bulletin. Thst aside, the population is growing very quickly which bodes well for the games continued expansion.
.Accurate. Channel 7 decided to launch their own local GC news program a few years ago to go head-to-head with Channel 9. There's definitely a market for it here and both channels provide reasonably good coverage of the Suns. Unlike the 6pm state news that will often skip over AFL related stories or only report on the Lions when something big is happening.
Seems you've misunderstood my post so I'll clear it up. GPS = Greater Public Schools Association of Queensland which includes six schools in Brisbane (Anglican Church Grammar, Brisbane Boys' College, Brisbane Grammar, Brisbane State High, St Joseph's Nudgee and St Joseph's Gregory Terrace), one school on the Gold Coast (The Southport School), one school in Ipswich (Ipswich Grammar) and one school in Toowoomba (Toowoomba Grammar). The three best rugby union schools in Queensland are undeniably in this competition. If anyone tells you otherwise then they aren't telling you the truth.
I haven’t misunderstood at all.
Fair enough. Just know that the GPS schools are responsible for producing almost all pro rugby union and cricket players from Brisbane in recent decades and there's currently a strict no Aussie rules understanding in place at most of those schools. Maybe the school you were referring to had a strong history of producing rugby players in the 20th century, but these days the scholarships offered to junior athletes from the GPS schools virtually guarantees all the best juniors in Brisbane end up at one of those schools. Even future rugby league players find themselves playing rugby union in Brisbane like when current Dally M Medallist Kalyn Ponga accepted a scholarship to play rugby union for GPS school Churchie and ended up signing for the North Queensland Cowboys rugby league team upon graduation. It's a funnel that's been intentionally set up to feed as many high level athletes into historically popular sports like rugby union and cricket but it does bleed into the more popular rugby league code as well. Not a lot of room for Aussie rules to infiltrate the top level Brisbane interschool sport sphere.
Funnily enough, that area of Logan (Greenbank) falls under the Suns' academy zone. It's right on the border so the club should pull in juniors from both zones but the actual club itself is in the Suns' zone. This is a part of the deal that was struck between the Queensland government and the AFL when they were awarded the 2020 GF hosting rights. The QLD government committed to upgrading and building more local footy clubs throughout South East Queensland and below is another example of a new sports precinct being built on the Gold Coast that includes a brand new footy club that will be handed to one of the elite local private schools that currently has no sporting preference. The project also includes new housing so you'd expect lots of young families to move in there too. You can clearly see the strategy that's in place here and how they are increasing junior participation numbers moving forward. That would never happen at an elite private school in Brisbane but the Gold Coast schools are far more open to it.
Funnily enough, that area of Logan (Greenbank) falls under the Suns' academy zone. It's right on the border so the club should pull in juniors from both zones but the actual club itself is in the Suns' zone. This is a part of the deal that was struck between the Queensland government and the AFL when they were awarded the 2020 GF hosting rights. The QLD government committed to upgrading and building more local footy clubs throughout South East Queensland and below is another example of a new sports precinct being built on the Gold Coast that includes a brand new footy club that will be handed to one of the elite local private schools that currently has no sporting preference. The project also includes new housing so you'd expect lots of young families to move in there too. You can clearly see the strategy that's in place here and how they are increasing junior participation numbers moving forward. That would never happen at an elite private school in Brisbane but the Gold Coast schools are far more open to it.
Most definitely. He was seen as a polarising character down south, but if you do your research then it's undeniable that he had a massive positive impact on the growth/future of the game in Queensland. He won't get the credit he deserves when the Suns start having on field success but internally people know how much he steered the ship during a tumultuous time when people down south were constantly questioning the existence of a Gold Coast AFL club.
Rugby Australia are currently in the process of trying to acquire rugby league talent for the 2027 World Cup because it's being hosted here. That means they are splashing the cash at the moment and I suspect you'll see a few more following Sua'ali'i's lead and committing to union over the next four years as a result. Makes it difficult for Aussie rules to get a look in over the next few years.
Have a look at the locals on the current Brisbane Heat list as evidence of this:
I've heard similar stories of TSS kids wanting to play Aussie rules and getting blocked. Jeff White's son (Kalani) attends TSS and was named in the U16 AA team this year but doesn't get the opportunity to play or train at his school. It wouldn't surprise me if this fact alone leads to Kalani moving to Melbourne to attend an APS school that will support his football endeavours. That's the unfortunate reality of a situation like this.
The elite youth teams in both rugby codes just don't back up what you're suggesting. The majority of the current Reds youth team comes from the GPS schools and the Queensland U19 Origin team is mostly made up of SEQ players from state schools with 10-20% going through the GPS system.
Only one of them is a Test cricketer of any regularity, and 3-4 of them are regular first class cricketers. That is my definition of top-line cricket.
Not many Queenslanders make the test team anyway so that's not a fair way of judging it. First class is a far better way of measuring it -SEQ locals in the current squad of the Queensland Bulls: Jack Clayton (GPS - Brisbane Boys), Aryan Jain (Brisbane Grammar), Matt Renshaw (GPS - Brisbane Grammar), Hugh Weibgen (Brisbane Grammar), Blake Edwards (Brisbane State High), Marnus Labuschagne (GPS - Brisbane State High), Jimmy Pierson (GPS - Brisbane State High), Jack Wildermuth (GPS - Brisbane State High), Ben McDermott (GPS - Churchie), Mark Steketee (Ipswich Grammar), Tom Whitney (Ipswich Grammar), Joe Burns (GPS - Nudgee), Bryce Street (GPS - Nudgee), Connor Sully (Nudgee), Mitchell Swepson (GPS - Nudgee), Will Prestwidge (GPS - Terrace), Matt Kuhnemann (GPS - TSS), Michael Neser (GPS - TSS), Xavier Bartlett (GPS - TSS), Hugo Burdon (GPS - TSS) and Jack Sinfield (GPS - TSS). Just two from non-GPS schools - James Bazley (Maroochydore State High) and Max Bryant (St Joseph's).
I won't profess to be an expert on the resources at each GPS school but I do know TSS is at least the equal of any other Gold Coast school in terms of facilities/resources and would be considerably better than 90% of GC schools. Perhaps it's different in Brisbane and the AIC schools really are on the level you suggest. In which case, you certainly would expect the GPS schools to either fall behind or recognise the need for considerable upgrades.
We can only hope. It would be a real game changer for Aussie rules in Queensland and I get the feeling both rugby codes know that.
I would argue that you're missing the point. You keep making claims that the GPS schools are losing their lustre and junior athletes are now more inclined to head to schools that allow more flexibility like those in the AIC, but I'm giving you tangible of evidence that the vast majority of the best athletes in sports like cricket and rugby union still preference the GPS schools and that the pro level teams are filled with players from those schools. It doesn't really matter if you have more kids moving towards the AIC schools, what matters is which kids go to the AIC schools. Quality over quantity - the best athletes will end up in the pros and the stats clearly show that the best athletes in those sports are mostly attending GPS schools.
That's a great history for Ashgrove but we're discussing the current situation. Check out this link that shows a list of players named in the Reds U15 and U16 teams from last year. Just 2 of 46 players named in those teams come from Ashgrove. Feel like guessing how many come from a GPS school? I'll save you the time, it's 33 of 46 players (72%) named and there's a fair chance that some of those 13 non-GPS players will end up at the GPS schools if they continue to get named in the Reds development teams. These are undeniable facts.
Maybe for the parents who want their kid to play a sport that isn't offered like Aussie rules. I just don't believe that there's this massive wave of parents who would willingly give up a scholarship to pursue cricket or rugby union at a GPS school if they are legitimately one of the best athletes in SEQ and look destined for a career in that sport. I'm sure the Reds and Bulls tell these parents that they would prefer their child to attend a GPS school because it should result in better development.
I never said that. That was another poster. I said AFL is infiltrating well known rugby schools.
It’s offseason, got to keep one’s self amused
Gee whiz. You've taken this very personally. Unfortunately for you, facts don't care about your feelings.
The AFL appears to know this and that's why they've been so supportive of the northern academies to date. Tony Cochrane made a great point on radio today that the NRL media would be doing cartwheels and trumpeting it from the mountain tops if the Storm had produced four local juniors that were considered the best top 25 juniors in the land. They would say it's great for the sport and an indication that they are growing in a non-traditional market. For some reason it seems to be the opposite with the AFL media and a decent portion of the general footy public. It's as if people don't want the game to grow in Queensland or NSW...
Your last paragraph is bang on. I think the Suns are on the cusp of a growth phase that will translate to visible metrics, crowds, membership etc. the grassroots looks great and I think the successful Suns Academy haul this week will only reinforce the efforts to invest in grass roots on the coast. The ‘system’ on the Coast will be motivated by the Academy success which I think will inspire more kids to join AFL and the schools to start competing with each other in time.
Which school?Funnily enough, that area of Logan (Greenbank) falls under the Suns' academy zone. It's right on the border so the club should pull in juniors from both zones but the actual club itself is in the Suns' zone. This is a part of the deal that was struck between the Queensland government and the AFL when they were awarded the 2020 GF hosting rights. The QLD government committed to upgrading and building more local footy clubs throughout South East Queensland and below is another example of a new sports precinct being built on the Gold Coast that includes a brand new footy club that will be handed to one of the elite local private schools that currently has no sporting preference. The project also includes new housing so you'd expect lots of young families to move in there too. You can clearly see the strategy that's in place here and how they are increasing junior participation numbers moving forward. That would never happen at an elite private school in Brisbane but the Gold Coast schools are far more open to it.
